60 - The End

First post here. 

THE END. 

So this is the end of my first webcomic. All four of your are saying, "What?!?!? say it ain't so." It's so... and it's not a bad thing. 

This comic is a slow evolution of my teenage superhero ideas, taking my old D&D buds and the PCs they'd tend to play, twisting, turning, gender flipping until this comic finally came about. 30 years in the making. I accrued a massive database of ideas and it was going to explore them all. 

Unfortunately or more likely fortunately I realized the ideas have been incubating too long and I'm just bored. You can't see it from this little snippet but it was trying to be all the things and really good stuff is rarely all the things. 

Plus I've changed. I'm in my 40s and my old comic ideas just ain't right for me anymore. I still love all the same genres so its not likely your going to see a character driven non-story of people talking in a diner comic, but it'll be different. 

LEARNIN'S

I've realized a great many things since starting this. A lot of these I agreed with intellectually, but felt in my heart they were lies which kept me in paralyzing self-flaggelating art criticism spirals. My mind and heart are now in alignment and I am happier and healthier for it. 

What I've learned: 

1. Mistakes are not bad, they are part of learning and improvement. 
2. Doing a thing is the best way to get better at a thing. Don't just read how to books. 
3. I have ADHD inattentive type (a new and freeing self-diagnosis) and I shouldn't beat myself up for poor organization, just do what I can to work around it. 
4. Supportive people who are also realistic are very helpful. 
5. Your taste will generally be further ahead than your skills. That gap is your road for growth not why you suck. 
6. Perspective drawing hasn't quite clicked in my head yet. 
7. I love the brush but it is hard. 
8. Pessimism may be more accurate but it doesn't help you. 
9. Other stuff I forgot. 
10. Tons of bits and pieces of how to do comics. 
11. Keep a webcomic to 1-3 protagonists, maximum.

NEXT PROJECT

So, this isn't quitting as much as moving to a new webcomic. TOP SECRET, son. I've come up with the premise, but I have a lot of world building to straighten out. Then I have to fine-tune the cast. 

The concept, though rough, is just killer to me. It connects to almost all the things I care about at the moment. I can't say any more because I don't want to kill its mojo. Let's just say, I have a name and I bought the domain/website. I'm going whole hog on this one. 

As I work out the world building and writing end of things I will also be working on character, set, and prop designs. Been reading Pixar and animation advice. I moved pretty quick on this site but for this next webcomic I'm going to work design harder and longer and create model sheets and such for myself. It should help my consistency. 

Some of my design work will be posted on my deviant art page if you'd like to keep track of my stuff. I'll announce the new webcomic there too. And if you know me from FB, I'm sure I'll mention it there too. 

THANKS TO...

...my folks for making me be alive and stuff. Heh heh. 
...my fans, all four of you. Hugs!
...my Bro for being supportive and kicking ideas around with me for most of my life. 
...my old crew of D&D dudes. You know who you are. 
...and thanks mostly to my awesome wife who has been an amazing supportive voice and organizer in my life. She believed in me even through the worst of my inner critic and the old ADHD (which neither of us new existed until recently). You're the bestest. 

Nick

59 - Time + Sleep + Coffee

First post here. 

Hitting the denouement of this little story. I've got the next arc planned but I'm considering a new webcomic. I'll discuss this later for the two people who look at blog.

Nick. 

58 - Here's the deal.

First post here. 

So this has been a rough week at the day job. Poor sleep last night. So I'm just posting and running. Boom! 

Nick. 

57 - Are you kidding me?

First post here. 

So, I'm running late. Should have been in bed 45 minutes ago. 

Anyhoo. Enjoy. 

Nick

56 - Sounds Dramatic

First post here, son. 

Weelllllllllll, it was a Wednesday (DeLaSoul ref for no good reason) and I posted again. Buffer is kind of small but my discipline is good enough to handle 1 post a week. I really do have to step it up to more posting. It's hard though. Not a surprise though. It's part of the gig. 

Anyway, have a lovely day. 

Nick.

55 - Coffee good.

First post here. 

So another post. I just got an oversized B&W version of "Seven to Eternity" comic and Jerome Opena is incredibly good and uses lots of tiny tiny lines. Very cool. I like lots-of- tiny-line artists but I don't think I have that in me. My hand-brain likes big chunks of black more. Other comic artists will probably get that even if it sounds like crazy talk. 

Listening to the first Foo Fighters album. I've never really listened to it. I liked a lot of the singles but never just put the album on. I like them, not surprised about that. 

Check ya later. 

Nick. 

54 - What About Your Friends

First post here. 

Short on time, short on other stuff. Podcast recommendations - Webcomics Weekly and Surviving Creativity. 

Also, go look at Denis Bodart and Pierre Alary art. Go google it. That thing is good. 

That's what's up. 

Nick. 

53 - Jeez it's the...

First post here. 

Thanks for reading, 

Nick

52 - Sometimes Bad

First post here. 

So this makes 52 weeks of post. No not consecutive, but that's a year of posts (over the past 3 years). I've been solid for a good while now. It's nice. 

Enjoy. 

Nick. 

51 - Is Riley alive?

First post here. 

Enjoy.


Nick

50 - Things Fall Apart.

first post here, son. 

Still chugging along. Still old school. Pencil, ink, wash, scan. 

Nick

49 - Nick of Time

First post here.

Nick

48 - Big Fiery Death

First post here. 

Nick

47 - Vulcan to the Rescue

First post here. 

Nick

46 - Swordfight gets real

First post here. 

45 - Stairs

First post here. 

44 - 'Round the Bend

First post here. 

So I was thinking about promoting this webcomic and thought about drawing a banner to use on sites and at the top of the page probably. Then I thought about my eventual publishing model and how I prefer manga style books with color covers and 200 or so pages of black and white interiors. 

So banner and book covers means color to me, which I've stayed away from, but it does sell better. Now I'm doing this all old school and on a laptop so computer coloring would be super tedious with my trackpad so -- no. 

So I'm going old school coloring. I tried out some watercolor pencils my wife had and then a very simple water color set. I preferred the watercolor paint to the pencils. And there are always the colored inks like Dr Ph Martin's but they're pricey. More investigation is needed but I think a decent watercolor set is likely in my future. 

43 - Riley a.k.a. Doc Destructo

First post over here. 

Some more gray tones via ink washes. That's what's up.

Nick. 

42 - Swing and a...

First post here. 

So, I've returned to using gray tones via ink washes. I took a break for awhile to work on inking without grays to try and improve my skills. It did do some good. Granted I could ink for years and years without gray tones before I compare to the artists I love, but I'm bored now and want to dip my tow back into grays. The next four pages are grayed (ink washed) for sure and likely more will be after that. 

I do believe I have a bit of an improved approach. Previously I asked and grayed at the same time (roughly) and so I would not ink things because I knew they'd be grayed a particular way. My current mode is actually to ink it like it won't be getting any gray in the future and then when I get to the grays see how I can help it there. 

I did the grays all at once for these five pages and I feel a general improvement of control and judgment during that session. So page 46-47 are better grayed than this one is (at least to me). 

Regardless this webcomic has been an excellent art school even if it is self taught and slow. 

See ya next time. 

Nick. 

41 - Villain, Exit Stage Left

First page here. 

I had fun with this one, particularly the panel arrangement. 

Nick

40 - Here come the Cavalry?

First post here. 

My comic idols of the moment or flavor of the month are both Tyler Crook and Pierre Alary. Tyler does awesome classic brush approach comics. See Harrow County for some horror. Pierre Alary is French and Disneyesque. His skills are extra-ordinary. I don't have any of his books yet, because they are hard to find here in the US of A. Search/Google/Bing for them if you're curious. 

You might not see one iota of influence yet, I just know I'm looking at their art a lot. 

Nick.